The holidays are over, summer barbecues with cool whites and rosés are far in the distance, but there is a Swiss wine that is a delightful treat this time of year, when the snow lies round about, and roasts and stews tickle our noses. Humagne Rouge is a canton Valais wine specialty that originally hails from the Val d’Aosta just over the border in Italy. Over the years it earned a reputation as a rustic wine that goes well with game, so it tends to be most popular in the autumn. It can be slightly coarse, less refined than other reds from the region, but some of the best Humagne Rouge wines can be quite classy and go well with steaks (Vins du Valais suggests pepper steak) and tasteful dishes such as roast pigeon.

We don’t roast pigeons at my house but we do like peppery roasts of other sorts and the wild, clean character of this wine, sometimes verging on sharpness despite its good harmony, is refreshing and just right for the meat. I also like it with strong cheeses, such as a blue, a hard goat cheese or an Alpine pastures cheese. Another point in favour of this wine in winter is the clean colour, a magnificent deep ruby redness that makes a nice change from the deeper hues of the full-bodied reds I tend to drink in winter.

Humagne Rouge, which bears no relationship to Humagne Blanc, is grown in a relatively small quantity. It is a late-ripening grape so growers tend to plant it in the best sunny and warm locations on the banks above the Rhone, in Switzerland. Autumn walks through the vineyard are made more cheerful by these dense and heavy bunches left on the vines when others have been stripped – it is as if they are insisting that summer should last longer, and I always agree with them.

I was very pleased with one I tried this week, from the Cave St Pierre in Chamoson, a village better known for its Johannisberg wines, from the cellar’s La Réserve des Administrateurs line. These are made from the best batches of wine for each grape variety the house has. This cellar’s Humagne Rouge is described as having notes of wild blueberry and blackberry: I had no trouble finding the blackberry, but the blueberry was less obvious. The colour was the promised rich red that shimmered in the light. Just the thing for a wintry evening.

Humagne Rouge, CHF18.50 at the cellar

Best served at 16C

Ages well, 4-6 years

Cave St Pierre, Chamoson, Distributed through Schenk SA

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